News archive

Mayor of Assisi, birth place of St. Francis, Claudio Ricci, came to Medjugorje on Sunday, July 19th in the company of Mayor of Citluk Ivo Jerkic, and visited Medjugorje and Franciscans from Medjugorje. He visited prayer places of Medjugorje parish and in the chambers of Parish office he spoke with Franciscans from Medjugorje. In his interview to radio station Mir Medjugorje Mayor said that he wanted to achieve this visit due to the celebration of 800 years of Franciscan order, and he added that it is his desire to link many world shrines on the paths of spirituality and humanity, just similar to the spirit of St. Francis. By enforcing this project, our desire is to go along with the time, but at the same time not to lose our identity and roots, emphasized Mayor of Assisi.

Parish of Medjugorje will celebrate on Saturday, July 25 the Feast of St. James the Apostle, feast of its heavenly patron saint. Holy Masses will be only in parish church at 8, 1 p.m. and 7 p.m. The central Holy Mass will be celebrated in Garden (Gaj) at 11. Procession with the statue of St.James will start from the church at 10.45. This year representatives from Bijakovici are going to carry the Statue, and Fr. Miro Sego, Guardian from Franciscan Monastery in Humac is going to be the main celebrant. Parish is going to prepare for this Feast with Three-day Prayer programme that begins on Wednesday, July 22.

14th International seminar for priests that began in Medjugorje on the feast of Apostles’ leaders St. Peter and St. Paul, June 29th, ended with the Holy Mass of gratitude on Saturday, July 4th at 12 o’clock. Host families to all of the priests that participated in the seminar were present as well. Fr. Ante Vuckovic from Split led the seminar, while Fr. Miljenko Steko was the coordinator, and there were total of 343 priests, deacons and seminarians present from twenty-five countries.

Pilgrims from Korea, 29 of them, in the age from nine to seventy-eight, together with their priest Agnello W.Choi climbed the Cross Mountain on Saturday morning on their knees, in the honour of the 28th Anniversary of Our Lady’s apparitions in Medjugorje. Father Agnello Choi has been in Medjugorje already on six occasions, and this, seventh time decided to come with the special prayer intention for the peace at Korean peninsula, that is going through difficult political troubles.

Community Merciful Father, that is part of Mother's Village in Bijakovici, which is specialized in recovering drug addicts, celebrated very important event on Saturday: opening of a new, fourth house in place Gomiljak close to Kiseljak, Bosnia and Herzegovina. (foto)

On June 29th, 2009, 14th International seminar seminar for priests began in Medjugorje with the Prayer to the Holy Spirit and Holy Mass at 7 p.m. at the White Dome. Dr. Fr. Ivan Sesar was the main celebrant, and Dr. Fr. Miljenko Steko, the coordinator of the seminar, gave a sermon.

The 14th International Priests Seminar will be held in Međugorje from June 29 to July 4, 2009

on the theme of: «You are my friends... (John 15, 14)» The coordinator of the seminar is Fr. Miljenko Šteko. The lecturer is the friar Ante Vučković

We inform you that The International Priests Seminar (6.29. until 7.4.2009), as well as The International Youth Festival (8.1. until 8.6.2009) in Medjugorje, will be broadcasted live online, both audio and video.

The German Information center for Medjugorje (www.medjugorje.de) and Kath.net (www.kathtube.com), will provide live broadcast on their Internet pages in Croatia, German, English, Spanish and Italian language.

Twenty-eighth anniversary of Our Lady's apparitions was celebrated in Međugorje on June 25th, 2009. Numerous pilgrims from all five continents, of different colours and customs, were united in prayer and language that everybody understands – the language of love through the Queen of Peace. Ever since the Wednesday evening many groups of pilgrims who came walking from Herzegovina, Bosnia, Republic of Croatia, as well as some individuals from Europe, started coming to Međugorje. (foto)

In this Novena, that started on June 15th, 2009, almost at all times, day and night, groups from all different parts of the world were climbing up the Apparition Hill. Every afternoon, despite the rain, Rosary was prayed at 4 p.m. Morning Holy Masses were celebrated in different languages, and evening prayer programme began at 6 p.m. with Rosary. Franciscans from Međugorje were main celebrants at the evening Holy Masses.

A group of pilgrims from Zagreb led by Krešo William Bello and the writer Nevenka Vidak decided to help actively the children from Mother’s Village. They collected books and donated books edited by their own publishing houses, so that Mother’s Village library was enriched by different new books, mostly for children, as well as encyclopedias, tales, novels…

Msgr. Leo Maasburg, National director of MISSIO Austria, was in Medjugorje in April 2009. During many years, he accompanied Mother Teresa on her journeys and at the occasion of the opening of new houses on different continents. He was preaching retreats for her sisters all over the world. When Mother Teresa opened her first houses in Moscow and in Armenia in 1988, Father Leo was spiritual counsellor of the sisters during several months, and thus the first „official” Catholic priest in the Soviet Union at that time. Afterwards, together with an Italian businessperson, he launched the largest Catholic Radio Family „Radio Maria”, which is present on all the continents today.

The Mother’s Day celebration took place on Friday, May 8, in St. Francis’ Garden in Mother’s Village. Children from the Elementary School Bijakovići and children from Mother’s Village with their teachers learned for that day several songs.